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Published 6:25 pm, Wednesday, March 16, 2016

BAD AXE — Officials will soon have to narrow a list of 10 applicants to three for appointment to the county planning commission.

Three-year terms are expiring for three current members: Carl Duda, who is seeking reappointment, David Peruski, who says he will resign, and Ted Sheldon, who won’t seek reappointment after 29 years.

The board of commissioners interviewed applicants Tuesday. Two of the 10 did not show (Todd Cooper and Todd Talaski).

Only one of the applicants, incumbent Carl Duda, lives in one of the 16 townships under county zoning. All are white males (there’s currently one female member). The commission also lacks members from the west side of the county.

The candidates: Todd Cooper of Pigeon; Brion Dickens, who chairs Oliver Township’s planning commission; Gerald Doyle, a disabled veteran who worked as a mechanic, contractor and truck driver; Carl Duda, current member of the county planning commission seeking a second term, lifelong farmer and former township supervisor and assessor; Terry Heck of Elkton, who owned a commercial roofing company for 36 years and served on the Elkton Village Council; Alan Kretzschmer, Owendale’s Department of Public Works supervisor and former fire chief; Robert McLean of Minden City, who has been vice chair of Paris Township’s planning commission since 2013 and worked in the dental industry for nearly 30 years; Charles O’Connor of Lake Township, who retired from DTE Energy after installing underground transformers; and William Renn, Chandler Township supervisor and lifelong farmer.

The board took turns asking, for the most part, the same questions of candidates. Some answered directly while others did not give a definitive response. Responses are listed in the order applicants were interviewed.

Farmland preservation

How familiar are you with PA 116? (Commissioner David Peruski. Farmers enroll in the state’s Public Act 116 to keep land in use for farming and not develop it for a number of years. Certain conditions must be met for land to be released.)

Dickens: Appreciates the value of PA 116, but says it can be abused.

Kretzschmer: Cannot remember.

Renn: Noted it preserves agricultural land and is an avenue for farmers to reclaim taxes.

O’Connnor: Couldn’t find any information on the web after looking last night.

Heck: “Not a whole lot.” It’s good, he said, but should be more lenient if a project proposed on PA 116 land benefits the community.

Duda: PA 116 preserves farmland.

WIND ENERGY

No applicant has a lease, easement or agreement with a wind energy developer filed at the county Register of Deeds Office. However, records show three current members do: Chair Clark Brock, with RES Americas as part of its incoming Deerfield project; Secretary Jeffery Krohn, as part of a project in Oliver Township; and member Joel Weber, who has multiple wind power documents on file with Heritage Energy as part of its Big Turtle project.

Do you have either a pro-wind or anti-wind bias? (Commissioner Rich Swartzendruber)

Dickens: “I fully appreciate the fact that yes, I have a pro-wind bias. I somewhat make my living in wind energy, from small wind, solar … as well as teaching at the college level and formerly lecturing on behalf of the state of Michigan.”

Kretzschmer: No clear stance, but says each project is unique and should be evaluated based on its own merits.

Renn: Says he is in favor of wind energy, with which he’s been involved since 2007 in Chandler Township, but a planner must weigh the issues on both sides.

O’Connor: Says he is “in the middle.”

Doyle: Wind energy is “good when used properly,” but if turbines generate enough noise to contribute to health problems, it should be reduced.

McLean: Commissioner Swarzendruber prefaced the question with: “Everybody knows you’ve been very vocal not in favor of wind.” He asked McLean if he could make decisions impartially. McLean: “Absolutely.”

Heck: “Not one way or another,” but it “doesn’t look good with turbines falling down and breaking.”

Duda: “50/50 … on the fence line.”

There are 328 wind turbines currently in Huron County. Should there be a cap? (Commissioner Sami Khoury)

Dickens: “This is a gray area. There is going to be a finite number.” But, Dickens said, it should be determined by government policy rather than open space.

Kretzschmer: “No. If property owners want to be involved, I think you have to look at that.”

Renn: Against setting a cap. “I really doubt if it’s legal. I think they call that exclusionary zoning.” Renn said he doesn’t see how a cap could be set with a wind ordinance in place and landowners’ desires.

O’Connor: “No, not at all … but keep them off the lakeshore.”

Doyle: It “wasn’t bad when it started,” but now there are red blinking lights he can see from his backyard, which he says doesn’t affect him.

McLean: Setting a countywide cap would be “legally doable,” and “we’re rapidly approaching that.” It should be set near 500, he said.

Heck: “Yes, 500, 600 maybe.”

Duda: “Yes … Huron County has done its share.”

HURON COUNTY’S FUTURE

What is your vision for the county’s master plan, a document setting the blueprint for land use that planners are currently working on? (Commissioner Ron Wruble)

Responses mostly focused on promoting agriculture and tourism. Heck says there should also be more commercial and retail businesses.

LEADERSHIP

What is your leadership style? (Commisioner John Nugent)

While no candidate named a specific leadership style, several said they would get input from both sides and base decisions on facts rather than opinions and feelings — to which Nugent countered feelings and opinions from residents should factor into decisions.

OTHER NOTABLES

Board Chair John Bodis was met with the obvious when asking if candidates could make decisions impartially, and whether a project fully meets ordinance requirements should be approved — a “Yes” from all candidates. Doyle, as an independent consultant in the past, said he had “nobody to look at besides himself. O’Connor said he does not have many relations in the area or to those in public office.

“I’m green, I admit it,” O’Connor said, when asked of his leadership style. He was also asked if he thought his past with DTE Energy would conflict with county planner business. O’Connor said he could remain neutral and that he is “not swayed” by his 33-year career with the utility.

The planning commission has been “top heavy” on pro-wind, according to McLean.

“We used to have five members with contracts, now it’s down to three,” he said, adding he’s not pursuing a spot to warm the seat “because I’m not a seat warmer.”